Friday, March 1, 2013

Menu for the Day: 3D Printed Meat

We’ve heard of 3D printers able
to create medical implants out of metal powder and handguns out of
plastic. These materials were created from scratch through additive manufacturing
called 3D printing. Straight from a CAD drawing, the manufacturers were able to
produce the material or part they need without too much hassle and cost. Impressive,
right? This is exactly what gave ModernMeadow, a Missouri-based company, the idea to start generating meat from 3D
printing.

Through funding from billionaire
investor Peter Thiel, the company is trying to develop a regenerative medicine
that will allow 3D printing to bring meat replacement from cultured cells to
the dinner table. If realized, this technology will greatly reduce the cost of
raising large animals for their meat and, likewise, cut down gas emissions from
meat production. Soon, everyone will be able to put a feasible facsimile of
steak on their table without spending a lot of money.

The technology is still in its
early stage, but Modern Meadow believes that it’s getting close to the real
thing. Once unrolled, this 3D printed meat replacement will be like a synthetic
steak out of a Star Trek episode. It’ll be like a science fiction dream come
true.